Council approves Eureka Municipal Airport name change; vote to move forward with application for bike-friendly city status

The Eureka City Council voted Tuesday to adopt a resolution designed to clear up confusion for North Coast pilots and decided to move forward with an application that will evaluate how bike-friendly Eureka is.

In closed session prior to the meeting, the council also discussed a lawsuit against the city and Mayor Frank Jager. The complaint, filed by Eureka attorney Peter Martin on behalf of Eureka resident Carole Beaton in Humboldt County Superior Court in late January, requests that the city stop holding invocations -- sectarian or otherwise -- before City Council meetings, and that Mayor Frank Jager stop promoting the annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast.

In a previous interview with the Times-Standard, Jager called the lawsuit a waste of city resources and time, stating he still plans to hold the breakfast at the Wharfinger building in Eureka on Feb. 7 at 7 a.m.

In an email to the Times-Standard, Beaton said there are alternatives to invocations if the council is looking for a way to involve community members. In addition to a moment of silence, Beaton said the council could adopt a mission statement "to focus on why the mayor, council members and staff are gathered to make the city of Eureka the best place possible to live and work."

Beaton said she hopes the issue can be settled "without costing the city a penny."

"All they have to do is agree to stop having any prayer before government meetings or other government sponsored events," she said.

Two individuals commented on the lawsuit during public comment period following the closed session meeting. Both men supported the invocations and Jager's promotion of the annual breakfast.

One Eureka resident said his brother suffered from a hereditary immune deficiency disorder and was addicted to heroin, but was cured through a single prayer.

"I cannot urge this community enough to never stop praying," he said.

No invocation was performed prior to Tuesday night's council meeting.

In other matters, the council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution officially changing the name of the Eureka Municipal Airport to Samoa Field to help distinguish it from nearby Murray Field, commonly referred to as Eureka or Eureka Murray.

Two U.S. Coast Guard Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay officers spoke at the council meeting, stating that safety concerns prompted the request for a name change. Operations Officer Brian Edmiston noted that the close proximity of the two airfields with similar names causes confusion for pilots. The name change would have no financial impact on the city and has been approved by Caltrans Division of Aeronautics, the oversight agency of the Eureka Municipal Airport.

The council Tuesday night also heard a presentation from Arcata resident Melanie Williams on how the city could apply to become recognized as a bike-friendly city by the League of American Bicyclists.

Williams had worked with the city of Arcata previously to complete the application, and in May Arcata was awarded a Bicycle Friendly Community Silver Award.

In voting to direct staff to work with the city's transportation safety commission to prepare and submit the application, Councilwoman Melinda Ciarabellini said she sees the application "as a good first step."

"The application process doesn't obligate us to anything, and it will give us good feedback on where our city is now in terms of being bike friendly," she said. "I think it will serve us as a good guide moving forward."